1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-triggering circuit for a gas-filled laser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common practice to apply repetitive high energy electrical pulses to gas-filled laser tubes in order to stimulate the emission of laser output pulses. That is accomplished by a circuit that includes an energy source coupled to the laser cavity through a pulse forming network. The combination of the energy source and the pulse forming network is commonly termed a laser sustaining network. The pulses at the output of the laser sustaining network are of a predetermined shape and width. Such pulses are typically trapezoidal, with the rise and fall times being approximately one-tenth of the desired laser pulse width, which is typically approximately ten to thirty microseconds. The high energy pulse is isolated from the laser cavity by a switching device until coupling of the pulse to the laser cavity is required. The switching device must be typically capable of handling high energy pulses in sub-microsecond to microsecond times at high repetition rates. The disadvantages of the typical circuit is that the switching device requires additional or auxiliary voltages or currents for activation which are not generated intrinsically within the circuit; the resultant circuit complexity leads to component unreliability and electrical interference problems thereby increasing the cost of operation of laser systems.